On Sunday evening I was reading an article about a woman named Marissa Alexander. The article stated that Marissa and her husband had recently given birth to their baby. Marissa’s husband came home one day and questioned whether or not the baby was his and accused her of cheating on him. The accusation turned physical and before she knew it she was running away from him to find her gun. She grabbed her gun and fired it toward him, thankfully no one was hurt. With no prior police record, Marissa could possibly spend 60 years in jail for her one quick decision to fire a gun toward her husband.
I finished reading the article about Marissa Alexander when my eye caught another article. The title was about whether or not our legal system handles the people who are on death row properly. It sparked my curiosity so I clicked on the article. To my surprise it was not an article but rather a list of people who were on death row and their sentencing story. People who have been sentenced to death spend a minimum of 13 years awaiting their fate. A picture of the men on death row was displayed with information regarding why they were sentenced, how long they were on death row, and even what they ate for their last meal.
I scrolled through the pictures when I came across a man whose face I could not ignore. For awhile all I could do was look at the picture of him. I did not know the man but his face just looked so troubled. I finally decided to click on the link that went into further detail of his conviction. The article said that this man was pulled over by a police officer while driving a stolen car. While the police officer was checking the license plates of his car, he walked back to the stolen car and grabbed his gun. He then walked over to the police officer and shot him in the neck, killing the officer. He fired at the other police officer and shot him in the back, however, this police officer was spared by God while wearing his bullet proof vest.
After shooting the police officers he got in his car and drove off. He was found two days later and was taken to jail. This man was in his mid- twenties when he made the foolish decisions to drive a stolen car which lead to him killing one police officer and shooting another officer. After spending more than 30 years on death row he was executed. When I finished reading about him I went back to the picture of him. A picture of an old man clearly troubled. One foolish decision destroyed his life.
The common thread between Marissa Alexander and this man was that they both made one quick decision that altered their life. As I sat there thinking of this man and seeing the anguish and regret in his eyes, the Lord said to me, one bad decision and your life as you know it could be over. How much do you value your life? All it takes is one foolish decision that God decides not to spare you from and your life could be over. I have no doubt in my mind that this man and Marissa have probably spent some of their jail time thinking of what they could have done differently. The only problem with this is that God does not always give us a second chance.
Are you a person who is quick to respond? The bible says in Proverbs 14:17 “A quick-tempered person does foolish things, and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.” Has God previously spoken to you about your temper? It is not by accident that you are reading this article right now. It is time for you to work on the way you deal with your anger. In a previous post Jonathan and I shared tips on having better anger management skills. The Lord may be sending you one more message before he removes his mercy from you.
In the court of law a person who is considered to be mentally ill cannot be charged with a crime they have committed. In the same way, God only holds people accountable for what they know is right. Has He warned you to get your temper under control? I believe this may be the final warning for you to take ownership and action toward improving your temper. God will not spare you from your rash decisions indefinitely. One bad decision that God decides not to spare you from, and life as you know it could be over.
WWW.ChristianMarriageHQ.COM Challenge: Are you a person who makes rash decisions? Has God spared you from what could have happened as a result of your rash decisions? How many more times do you think God will spare you from what you know is deadly? How long are you willing to gamble with God’s grace and mercy? God is saying your time is up. “Stop doing wrong and learn to do right.” Isaiah 1:16-17
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